Saturday, March 3, 2018

blocking spam

Dear readers, I have been getting lots and lots of mail on this blog - from spammers in Nigeria, offering me ways to get my husband or lover back through the casting of spells. I checked the site that lists where my readers are, and sure enough, my third highest readership is in Lagos. Since I'd rather not read incoherent messages about conjuring my husband back, my tech genius Grace has engineered a way to stop them. From now on, a reply to one of my posts will go first to my email for approval and then be posted. It'll just take a bit longer to reply.

And now Grace is reporting them all as spam. Take that, you horrible creatures.

A very short article I wrote for "Zoomer" magazine has just appeared in their March issue with Oprah on the cover. There's a longer piece first listing different ways professional writers can help people get their stories on paper, and then, at the end, a short piece from me on how to write your own memoir. Very concise - in fact, considerably cut even from the short version I sent them - but already someone has contacted me to ask if I'd speak on this subject to their group. Not sure it'll work out, but it's nice these things are read.

Just finished Rachel Cusk's "Transit." What a very odd book. There's no question she's a good writer, but I won't read another book by her - too cold, too irritatingly unsettling. You never know where you are, as people suddenly take off into long philosophical discussions.

It's cold outside but the sun in this office is hot. I'm trying to dig my way out of the mess after clearing out the storage room for the renovation which is now on hold. My left arm is a bit sore - had the vaccine shot against shingles yesterday. On Thursday we held the rehearsals for So True - wonderful, as always. Yesterday, dear friend Stella Walker came for dinner; today, my oldest friend Ron. Tomorrow, after So True, Sam and Amy and Sam's best high school friend and his wife come for chili and Oscars, which will be wasted on me as I've hardly seen any of the movies. How did I get so behind?

4 comments:

I too have had love charm offers but my blog asked me to approve and guess what? I didn't! I'm in the unusual position of having seen two of the big movies this year. I don't watch television (or Netflix) very often but we were in Vancouver in early January and went to see "Call Me By Your Name." I enjoyed it for its lack of technology. Young people talking to each other at dances and not texting. No computers. Lots of golden light. And we also saw "Three Billboards..." which was good, though maybe not great. Many wildly funny moments and when John realized that the director had also directed "In Bruges", he said right away that it was the same grisly humour. (For myself, I like Martin McDonagh's plays. They seem deeply true somehow.)

Hello Both, I am nit a spamner I am a dislabled war heroe veterin dieing of Ebloa and I need $10,000 for hart transplant. If you help me I give you big love of God and money. I have fortunes in the bank butt cant get it until I am well enuf to go to get it Both. The I send you sum.